This Week in the YPU: Todd Miller

February 13, 2023

Old battles, waged by those long walls,

Once were proud on all men’s tongues.

But antiquity now is a yellow dust,

Confusing in the grasses its ruins and white bones.

— Wang Changling (698—756 AD)

Dear Members and Friends of the Yale Political Union,

Thank you to all who joined us last Tuesday as we debated Resolved: Polarizewith Dasha Nekrasova. By a vote of 67-43-3, the motion carries.

On Tuesday, February 14th at 7:30pm, the Yale Political Union will host Todd Miller to debate “Resolved: Tear Down the Wall” in in Sudler Hall (WLH 201). Reach out to the Speaker (Anna Martinelli-Parker), the Floor Leader of the Right (Daniel Hannell), or the Floor Leader of the Left (AJ Tapia-Wylie) if you are interested in speaking on the docket.

Todd Miller is a journalist and author who specializes in immigration and border issues, both in the context of the US-Mexico border and around the world. He has written on topics such as increased border militarization and its relation to corporate profiteering and the global effects of climate change, as well as the role of the nation-state in creating the problems that drive immigration. He argues that the strengthening of border enforcement hasn’t made the world safer but is instead symptomatic of a war against the poor.

Prior to Tuesday’s debate, the Union will host a dinner with Mr. Miller for a small group of students. Please fill out this form to indicate your interest in attending by 5pm on Monday.

Beginning this week, you may find whip sheets of the Yale Political Union in residential college dining halls. The whip sheet summarizes the past week’s proceedings in the Union and provides information on this week’s events. Be sure to pick up a copy when you get the chance!

Party Events this Week:
The Party of the Left will be debating Resolved: There is No Casual Sex” on Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00pm in the Curtis Curtiss Library of Jonathan Edwards College. (Contact: kaycee.portillo-sorto@yale.edu).

The Progressive Party will be debating Resolved: Ruin the Friendship” on Wednesday, February 15 at 7:30pm in the Branford Trumbull Room. (Contact: avi.ross@yale.edu).

The Independent Party will be debating Resolved: The Western Canon Poisons Our Taste” on Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00pm in the Pierson Fellow’s Lounge. (Contact: camillo.padulli@yale.edu).

The Federalist Party will be debating Resolved: Put Yourself Out There” on Wednesday, February 15 at 8:00pm in the Trumbull Fellow’s Lounge. (Contact: marcos.barrios@yale.edu).

The Conservative Party will be debating Resolved: That Morality is Simply the Attitude We Adopt Towards People Whom We Personally Dislike” on Thursday, February 16 at 7:30pm at at 34 Lynwood Place. (Contact: simon.bazelon@yale.edu).

The Tory Party will be debating “Resolved: Date a Leftist” on Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00pm in the Saybrook Athenaeum room. (Contact: anouk.schembri@yale.edu).

The Party of the Right will be debating Resolved: War Journalism is Glorified Pornography” on Thursday, February 16 at 7:45pm at 348 Elm St. (Contact: chiefwhip.por@gmail.com).Happy Valentine’s Day, and see you at debate!

Warmly,
Jean Wang (they/them)
President of the Yale Political Union